Out of Contact

 Recently my husband asked me to book flights for us to travel from Buffalo NY toStCharlotte NC. No problem, a few minutes or even an hour on the computer and we would be set to go.  We divided and conquered, he left to do errands and I stayed in to book the flights.  I found the perfect flights.  I selected the departure and return times and started entering our personal information.   When I got to the section for traveler's ID, you know for the fast lane at the airport, I found I didn't have his ID. I should have thought of that before he left.   Well, it's all good I thought, he is only a phone call away.  So I called, then I texted.  No answer.  This was not unusual.   Though phones do make our lives convenient, they also make it so that we are never "off" work.  Thus, when we are on vacation, sometimes my husband does not take his phone with him.  That was the case this day. The dilemma was, what should I do. Hold off.  Keep trying to contact him and risk getting frustrated. Book without the TSA number and pay the consequence in long lines later on. I tried contacting him again unsuccessfully. I was temped to get frustrated, but that wouldn't turn out well.   I texted something that I thought would be funny or at least light-hearted and encouraging, still nothing....and then he walked in the door.  Problem solved...but, he didn't have his phone on his person, I actually had his phone within reach but didn't know it. He hadn't shared that he was leaving the phone and his ID with me and his ringer was off, so I had no idea that I had everything I needed basically at my fingertips.  Being disconnected left me feeling a little bit of angst.  Realizing that I wasn't as far off from having answers as I thought I was also left me feeling kind of annoyed, simply because the solution was simple it just didn't seem simple. 

Isn't that just like how it goes in prayer sometimes, we position ourselves to get in touch with our heavenly Father.   We think we have everything we need.  We present our list and needs to the Father, but we find we are missing the mark somehow.  There is a disconnect.  Maybe we have missed something in our previous communication. Lack of proper preparation in the form of confession, adoration or humility will leave us feeling closed off from the connection we need.   Maybe we have everything we need but we have closed out our ability to hear - as if we have our volume off. This can happen when we chatter on and neglect to listen.  It can happen with a lack of preparation as mentioned before.   It can also happen when we pray amiss when our desires are not God' desires.  There is another option, it isn't always our fault when we feel like God isn't listening.  Sometimes God allows us to hang. He knows we need to learn patience, or perseverance or even just gain a new appreciation for the magnitude of God like Job learned through the days He perceived God as silent.   None of these possibilities though are the point of this story.   The point is that God is always right here where we are.  He may seem elusive, but He isn't.  He may seem far off, but He is in fact very near.   He may appear distanced but he isn't. He has a vested interest in how we are, who we are, and how we reflect Him in our daily living.  His interactions with us at every turn help to refine us to better reflect Him. Whether we feel that those interactions are close and intimate or from a distance. God cares and responds to our deepest needs.  As a dear friend once said, God gives us just what we need and sometimes it's a little starving.